This Map Of "Usual Dinner Times" In Europe Is Going Viral, And Now I Must Know What You Think
I don't know about you, but growing up, I'd eat dinner around 6 p.m. — sometimes even earlier.
I thought this was pretty normal, until I came across something on Reddit the other day. A user who goes by u/kkaiOkkai posted a map of European countries and their "usual dinner times":
Interesting, right? You can definitely see some similarities in eating times based on where the countries are geographically. But I know the map is a little overwhelming, so I'll attempt to break it down for you:
It looks like Norway and Finland have the earliest dinner times, eating a little after 4 p.m.
Then we have nearby countries like Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands, who eat just right after 5 p.m.
After those Northern countries are done eating, countries like Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Belgium, Ireland, and the United Kingdom begin to eat between 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Next up we have all of Northeast Europe — including Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus — around 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.
On the later side we have countries like Greece and Italy, eating around 8 p.m.
And last but not least, we have the night eaters — Portugal and Spain — in the 9 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. time range.
Now, I know that not everyone is eating at exactly these times, but still, it's interesting. People in the thread even pointed out that these times may be heavily influenced by the time the sun sets in each country, as well as what hour most people usually get off of work.
"In my experience, Norwegians typically eat dinner very soon after returning home from work. Because of modern work schedules this can be usually from 1630 to 2000 (4:30–8:00 p.m.). But the cultural time to eat is very early compared to southern Europe so I think if schedules allow, Norwegians will shift to eating earlier if they can," u/Heathen_Mushroom added. "I know in summer when we were at our cabin we would eat certainly around 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., then have coffee, cake, bread or whatever later in the evening."
"When it’s so damn hot outside, nobody wants to eat," someone who goes by u/Rust2 pointed out. "Those southern countries are all warm AF. They need to wait until it cools down to get an appetite. Plus they take siestas in mid-day. That pushes evening activities even later."
Another user who goes by u/Deathbyignorage explained why Spain eats later than the other countries:
"Spaniard here. Having a late dinner isn't only about the time, it is cultural. We Spaniards have our whole life structured around it with an afternoon snack created to fill that time and our late work hours (many office workers finish at 7 p.m. and shops at 8 p.m. or 8:30 p.m.), even our prime time hours on TV are later than the rest," they said.
Now all of this talk about dinner has me wondering...
Campo Viejo UK / Via giphy.com
